You are here: / / School Not Liable for Three-Year-Old’s Failure to Get Off the Bus...

School Not Liable for Three-Year-Old’s Failure to Get Off the Bus After Arrival at the School—Child Had Not Yet Entered the Orbit of the School’s Authority—Although School Voluntarily Undertook the Duty to Determine the Whereabouts of Absent Students, the Parents Were Not Aware of that Policy and Therefore Could Not Have Relied On It

The Second Department reversed Supreme Court and dismissed the complaint against a private school.  The infant plaintiff, a three-year-old with special needs, was left on the bus which transported him to school for six hours.  The Second Department determined the child had not yet entered the “orbit of” the school’s authority.  In addition, although the school voluntarily undertook to determine the whereabouts of absent children, there was no showing the child’s parents were aware of the policy:

A school’s duty to its students is dependent on its physical custody of those students (see Stephenson v City of New York, 19 NY3d 1031, 1033). Custody ceases when the student has passed out of the “orbit of” the school’s “authority” … . Here, it is undisputed that Nicholas never passed into the physical custody of the school, as he never left the bus. * * *

Voluntary conduct may give rise to liability, even if there would otherwise be no duty to act, if “the defendant’s affirmative action adversely affected the plaintiff and the defendant failed to act reasonably”… . In order for a party to be negligent in the performance of an assumed duty, however, the plaintiff must have known of and detrimentally relied upon the defendant’s performance, or the defendant’s actions must have increased the risk of harm to the plaintiff … . Arroyo v We Transp Inc, 2014 NY Slip Op 03965, 2nd Dept 6-4-14

 

You might also like
Leave to File Late Notice of Claim Should Have Been Granted
Unambiguous Release Is a Jural Act of High Significance Which Must Be Enforced
DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS RIGHT TO COUNSEL WHEN DEFENSE COUNSEL TOLD THE COURT HE DID NOT WANT ANY PART OF DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO WITHDRAW HIS GUILTY PLEA (SECOND DEPT).
THE SUPERIOR COURT INFORMATION (SCI) DID NOT INCLUDE AN OFFENSE CHARGED IN THE FELONY COMPLAINT OR A LESSER INCLUDED OFFENSE; THE SCI WAS THEREFORE JURISDICTIONALLY DEFECTIVE; THE ERROR NEED NOT BE PRESERVED FOR APPEAL (SECOND DEPT).
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS DEFENSE MAY BE RAISED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN AN ANSWER TO AN AMENDED COMPLAINT; RELATION-BACK DOCTRINE NOT APPLICABLE TO ORAL-CONTRACT ACTION WHERE ORIGINAL ACTION WAS BASED SOLELY ON A WRITTEN CONTRACT.
THE CAUSE OF ACTION SEEKING THE IMPOSITION OF A CONSTRUCTIVE TRUST TO PREVENT UNJUST ENRICHMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED; PLAINTIFF WIFE ENTERED A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT REQUIRING PAYMENTS BY HER EX-HUSBAND; AFTER HER EX-HUSBAND’S DEATH HIS CHILDREN ALLEGEDLY EMPTIED THE ESTATE OF ASSETS, THEREBY PREVENTING THE FULFILLMENT OF THE TERMS OF THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (SECOND DEPT).
RECORDS SUBMITTED BY THE BANK DID NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE BUSINESS RECORDS EXCEPTION TO THE HEARSAY RULE, BANK’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​
DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION OF A 1996 MURDER BASED UPON NEWLY DISCOVERED EVIDENCE OF THIRD-PARTY CULPABILITY PROPERLY GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

Knowledge that Water Will Be Tracked In Is Not Constructive Knowledge of a Dangerous... Circumstances When Hospital May Be Liable for Actions of Non-Employee Doctor...